In an effort to help family and friends remain in contact with incarcerated loved ones, many states offer a free online inmate locator tool. Of course, a locator tool is most beneficial when you know the state in which the inmate is confined. Nonetheless, even if the state is unknown, nationwide locator search tools can generally find an accurate record with nominal information. Using an inmate locator tool is likely the easiest and quickest way to find a prison. Forget contacting each individual facility. In this case, a manual search is conducted, which can take several minutes or hours. Some states have several correctional facilities. With an inmate locator tool, upon entering the prisoner's full name and other pertinent information, search results will provide possible matching records. Consider the following online search tools for quickly locating a Utah prison record.

Utah County Online: This official government website provides information on a variety of services. Online inmate searches are free in Utah. However, requestors must obtain a password before access is granted. To request permission to access prison and jail inmate records, send an email to ucadm.suzettem@state.ut.us. Within the email include your full name, and reason for requesting a password. Once a password is obtained, you can log onto the website and begin searching records. To log in, visit http://www.utahcountyonline.org/dept/sheriff/InmateLogin.asp.

Utah Department of Corrections: The Department of Corrections is a great place to visit when seeking information on a prison or jail inmate. As a rule, the Utah Department of Correction must maintain accurate tabs on each incarcerated individual. In most cases, this information is retained on a public registry. Hence, person's searching prison inmate records can easily retrieve the information. To conduct a quick search of inmate records, visit http://www.utah.gov. Next, visit the Department's official website at http://corrections.utah.gov. There are two Federal prisons in Utah.

Because of a small number of prisons, locating an inmate within Utah is simple in comparison to other states. To find an inmate, simply contact each facility by telephone number. Provide a full name or prison identification number. Prison records are considered public information. Thus, you should be able to find information on the prisoner's conviction history, release date, sentenced date, and so forth.

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Because Utah does not offer a large online search site, the website offered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons is extremely useful in this situation. You can find any inmate nationwide, including those held in Utah prisons or correctional facility. Begin a quick search by visiting http://www.bop.gov. Next, search for a Utah inmate by using the search inmate locator tool. This is perhaps one of the easiest methods for locating a prison inmate. Upon completion of the search fields, the inmate tool will begin a search of thousands of records. Enter as much accurate information as possible, especially if the inmate in question has a common name. The locator tool will request a first and last name, gender, age, and race. To narrow down the results, or to receive an accurate record faster, provide an inmate identification number. Each number is unique. Once a federal inmate is located, results provide information such as the inmate's full name, registration number, age, location, approximate release date, and prison status (currently incarcerated or released). This site offers information on inmates from 1982 to present. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Prisons provides a facility locator tool, allowing requestors to search records for select prisons only.